How to Appeal Your Property Tax in Wyoming: Step-by-Step Guide for 2026
In Wyoming you contest an assessment by filing a written statement of reasons with your county assessor no later than 30 days after your assessment schedule was sent (W.S. 39-13-109(b)(i)). Your county commissioners, sitting as the county board of equalization, hear it. The State Board of Equalization and district court come after.
The Wyoming ladder and its time limits
| Step | Body | Time limit | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review with the assessor | County assessor | The statute calls it the “initial meetings” before a contest; the formal statement is still due within the 30 days | W.S. 39-13-109(a)(i)(A) |
| Contest (formal appeal) | Statement filed with the county assessor; heard by the county board of equalization | Not later than 30 days after the assessment schedule was sent. Mail or electronic filing counts if postmarked or transmitted within 30 days of the mailing or transmission of the schedule. After an electronic filing, a signed original must be sent to the assessor by regular mail or hand delivery the next business day, or the board may dismiss | W.S. 39-13-109(b)(i); SBOE rules ch. 7 § 6(b), effective February 2, 2021 |
| Exchange of evidence | You and the assessor | No later than 30 days before the county board hearing | W.S. 39-13-109(b)(i) |
| County board decision | Board of county commissioners as county board of equalization | Written findings and conclusions not later than October 1 | W.S. 39-13-109(b)(i) |
| Appeal of the county board | State Board of Equalization, Cheyenne | Within 30 days from entry of the county board’s decision or the postmarked mailing of it, whichever is later | SBOE rules ch. 3 § 2(a), effective February 2, 2021 |
| Judicial review | District court of the county where the property sits | Petition within 30 days after service of the State Board’s final decision | W.S. 39-13-109(b)(iv); W.R.A.P. 12.04(a) |
The statute text above is the version in the Legislature’s Title 39 compilation dated May 8, 2026, which postdates the 2026 session. HB 282 of 2025, which would have created a rebuttable presumption in favor of acquisition value for specified real property, “Failed” in the Senate Committee of the Whole on February 28, 2025.
When the 30 days start: the assessment schedule
The clock runs from the date the schedule was sent, not from when you open it. W.S. 39-13-103(b)(vii) has assessors send schedules “on or before the fourth Monday in April, or as soon thereafter as is practicable,” by mail or, if the county offers it and you ask, electronically. Each county picks its own mailing day inside that rule, so there is no single statewide deadline date. Under 39-13-103(b)(viii), the schedule must show this year’s and last year’s estimated fair market value (productive value for agricultural property) and “a statement of the process to contest assessments.”
County web pages can lag. In September 2026 the Laramie County and Teton County assessor pages still described the 2023 mailing and deadline dates. Teton tells owners to count from the “Date Mailed” printed on the notice. Use the date on your own schedule, not a date from a web page.
If the 30th day is not a business day, the State Board’s uniform county rules move it: “the statement shall be filed by the first business day thereafter” (ch. 7 § 6(b)). A statement filed late is dismissed “unless it determines that good cause exists to toll or extend the filing deadline” (§ 6(d)). That call belongs to the county board.
What goes in the statement to the assessor
Chapter 7 § 6(a) of the State Board’s rules lists the contents. Missing pieces can get an appeal dismissed under § 6(e):
- your name, mailing address and phone number;
- the legal description and location of the property;
- “a concise statement of the facts, issues and objections”;
- a reference to the statutes, rules or other authority you rely on;
- the relief you want;
- a copy of the assessment schedule.
The statement must be signed. If you file it electronically, the rules add one more step: “The petitioner shall send a signed or otherwise duly executed original of any electronically filed statement to the assessor by regular mail or hand delivery the next business day after the electronic transmission” (§ 6(b)). Skip it and the county board “may dismiss any statement otherwise not filed in substantial compliance with these rules” (§ 6(e)). The assessor may hand out a form that meets these requirements (§ 6(f)); Teton County accepts its form or a written statement. Teton also says the owner “must provide an action desired, such as an estimate of value,” and that “it’s too high” is “vague and not definable.”
Sales data the assessor must show you
The sworn statement of consideration filed with each deed is not a public record (W.S. 34-1-142(e)); the Laramie and Teton assessor pages cite the same statute. If you review or contest in time, W.S. 39-13-109(a)(i) entitles you to see statements of consideration “for properties of like use and geographic area.” The assessor must identify the parcels used to value yours and, on request, explain in writing “why a certain property was not used.” You may ask for a “geographic area” anywhere in the county. Both sides then disclose those statements to the county board at the hearing.
At the county board of equalization
The hearing is a contested case under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, recorded electronically or by a reporter. The rules put the weight on you:
- “There is a presumption that the assessor’s property valuation is valid, accurate, and correct” (ch. 7 § 14(a)).
- You go first. If you bring “credible evidence that the assessor’s valuation is incorrect or unlawful,” the assessor must defend it. The final burden stays with you “by a preponderance of the evidence” (§ 14(b)-(c)).
- The statute lets you present “any evidence that is relevant, material or not repetitious, including expert opinion testimony.”
Refusing to attend or answer the board’s questions can cost you the appeal: it “may be dismissed if any person willfully neglects or refuses.” The board’s options are stated narrowly. It “may affirm the assessor’s valuation or find in favor of the taxpayer and remand the case back to the assessor.” The assessor may take the result to the State Board too (W.S. 39-13-109(b)(ii)).
The State Board works mostly from the county record
A notice of appeal to the State Board has to include a copy of the county decision, the errors alleged, the tax in controversy and the relief sought (ch. 3 § 2(b)). The State Board’s own FAQ explains what follows. It is “usually limited to reviewing just the evidence that was presented to the County Board.” A request to add evidence has to be made in writing “at least 20 days before your brief is due.” Either side may ask for oral argument in Cheyenne within ten days after the briefing order. Build the county record as if it were the only one, because it often is.
File the notice at the Board’s office, 2300 Capitol Ave., Cheyenne, by mail to P.O. Box 448, Cheyenne, WY 82003-0048, or by fax to 307-777-6363; a mailed notice counts as filed on its legible postmark (ch. 3 § 2(a)). If the 30th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period runs to the end of the next day that is not (§ 2(d)). Mail copies at the same time to everyone who appeared at the county hearing, the county assessor and the county board (§ 3).
Refunds, interest and illegal levies
W.S. 39-13-109(c)(ii) directs a refund of tax found erroneous or illegal. Interest is handled in subsection (f). If you pay taxes under protest because of an appeal pending before the State Board of Equalization “or any court of competent jurisdiction,” the county treasurer deposits the protested amount “in an interest bearing escrow account” and holds it until a final decision. To the extent you prevail, the treasurer refunds that amount “plus interest earned thereon” within 30 days from the day the final decision is rendered (39-13-109(f)). The interest bar in 109(c)(ii) is narrower: it covers “excess tax” paid on a disapproved increase in the value of a product whose value needs approval from a federal or state agency or a court, and even there the commissioners “shall not provide a credit for interest on the excess tax paid unless the taxes are paid under protest due to an appeal pending before the state board of equalization and the taxpayer prevails in the appeal.” A different remedy covers an illegal assessment, levy or collection. That is a district court action filed “within one (1) year” (39-13-109(c)(i)).
Related guides
- Wyoming property tax explained: mill levies, the assessment ratio and exemptions
- Property tax calculator
- Cheyenne vs Casper: where to buy
- Neighboring states’ appeal rules: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Idaho
Primary texts: Wyoming Statutes Title 39; State Board of Equalization rules, chapters 3 and 7; State Board FAQ on county board appeals.
Frequently asked questions
Can the county board raise my value because I appealed?
The statute gives the county board two outcomes: affirm the assessor’s valuation, or “find in favor of the taxpayer and remand the case back to the assessor” (W.S. 39-13-109(b)(i)).
My 30th day lands on a Sunday. Is Monday late?
No. Chapter 7 § 6(b) of the State Board’s rules says that when the 30th day “is not a business day, the statement shall be filed by the first business day thereafter.” An electronic filing received after business hours counts as filed the next business day. If you file electronically, mail or hand-deliver the signed original to the assessor the next business day after you send it (§ 6(b)).
I missed the deadline. Is the year lost?
Yes, unless the county board finds good cause. The board “shall dismiss any statement not timely filed, unless it determines that good cause exists to toll or extend the filing deadline” (ch. 7 § 6(d)). Ask the board for that finding in writing and explain the cause.
Do I need a lawyer for the State Board?
The State Board’s FAQ answers “No. You may hire an attorney if you choose to. You can also represent yourself or you can be represented, at your own expense, by another person you choose.”
How long after the State Board’s decision can I go to court?
Thirty days after service of the final decision, under W.R.A.P. 12.04(a). The district court may add up to 30 more days “upon a showing of excusable neglect” (12.04(b)).